Abbas: US is no longer suitable mediator of peace process

Jan. 18, 2018 8:05 P.M. (Updated: Jan. 20, 2018 2:08 P.M.)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech on Wednesday at the Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem in Cairo, saying that the Palestinians “still adhere to peace and will use all the available options, but not violence or terrorism.”

Official Palestinian Authority (PA)-owned Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as saying that US President Donald Trump’s administration could not be trusted, and “is no longer suitable for the role of mediator of the peace process.

“We will adhere to peace, but peace shall not be at any cost, and we will go to all options but not terrorism and violence,” Abbas told the conference.

Abbas added that despite the US government’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, there was no legitimacy in such an statement.

“America chose to violate international law and defy the will of the Arab and Islamic peoples and the world to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli occupation.”

Abbas called upon Muslim and Arab countries to “take practical steps to compel Israel to stop its violations against the holy city of Jerusalem,” and encouraged Muslim and Arab tourists to visit Jerusalem “as a token of support for the city,” Wafa said.